Monday, October 01, 2007

Aegis wins largest Iraq security contract

'LONDON - The US government quietly gave a $485 mln security contract for Iraq to a private British firm within the week that US contractors were accused of opening fire on and killing Iraqi civilians.

The highly contested deal, the largest security contract awarded in Iraq, was won by Aegis Defence Services, a 5-year-old company run by a former British army officer one of whose previous companies helped put down coups in Africa.

Industry experts say the deal shows just how well positioned British firms are in the battle to make money amid Iraq’s chaos, as US companies, particularly in the wake of last month’s shooting, come under increasing scrutiny.

The deal was not awarded without controversy—Erinys, a rival bidder, has filed a lawsuit to try to block it and another has said it is ‘considering its options’—but Aegis was expected to retain the contract.

Aegis, which employs about 1,200 people, has now attracted nearly $800 mln in US government contracts, making it one of the most financially successful firms operating in Iraq.' continued

Thanks for posting the link Anand. Aegis Defence Services is the same company whose employees filmed the clips contained in this video:

Baghdad in 2000: "A woman known as Um Haydar was beheaded reportedly without charge or trial at the end of December 2000. She was 25 years' old and married with three children. Her husband was sought by the security authorities reportedly because of his involvement in Islamist armed activities against the state. He managed to flee the country. Men belonging to Feda'iyye Saddam came to the house in al-Karrada district and found his wife, children and his mother. Um Haydar was taken to the street and two men held her by the arms and a third pulled her head from behind and beheaded her in front of the residents. The beheading was also witnessed by members of the Ba'ath Party in the area. The security men took the body and the head in a plastic bag, and took away the children and the mother-in-law. The body of Um Haydar was later buried in al-Najaf. The fate of the children and the mother-in-law remains unknown."